The present invention relates generally to therapeutic devices and more particularly to such devices which are designed to facilitate inversion and suspension of a human from the lower legs so as to provide a natural gravitational traction on the upper body portions.
Various types of apparatus have long been utilized by individuals to suspend themselves in an inverted position. Such apparatus has taken a wide variety of forms such as for example ranging from a trapeze commonly provided on children's swing sets to specialized footwear which is designed to be hooked over an elevated bar or rod. Other types of apparatus have been designed to be secured within a doorway or the like and provide means for suspending an individual from the lower portions of the legs such as for example the apparatus illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,458,894; 4,461,287 or 3,593,708. While such apparatus may be well suited for supporting an individual in an inverted position, it is relatively difficult for an individual to position himself within the apparatus as well as to extracate himself therefrom. The principal reason for this difficulty lies in the fact that this prior art apparatus is designed to be secured in the position from which the individual will be suspended thus requiring the user thereof to elevate himself sufficiently so as to be able to position his lower extremities in appropriate relationship with the apparatus. While this may not be a problem for a strong, healthy individual, such apparatus is difficult if not impossible for use by less able bodied individuals. Another problem associated with the apparatus lies in the fact that to the extent such apparatus may incorporate leg engaging supports, they are positioned in a fixed relationship which may not correspond to the ideal location for a given size individual and thus render the apparatus uncomfortable for use by such individual.
The present invention, however, provides inversion apparatus which overcomes these problems and disadvantages of prior art apparatus in that it incorporates means for easily and readily adjusting the relative distances between body engaging portions thereof as well as providing adjustment for the relative angulation thereof. The inversion apparatus of the present invention is of the type which employs a pair of spaced support members which are designed to be engaged by the back of the knee of an individual and the individual's instep in such a manner as to thereby provide support for suspending the upper portions of the body in an inverted position. The apparatus incorporates means whereby the relative positioning of these support members may be easily modified so as to readily accommodate different size individuals as well as to insure that the support members engage the user of the apparatus in the most comfortable position possible. Additionally, the apparatus incorporates means whereby the angulation between the upper and lower portions of the leg may be set to any desired degree thus further contributing to the comfortable usage of the apparatus.
One embodiment of the present invention is designed to be fixedly positioned in a vertical orientation and thus require a user thereof to physically elevate and position himself within the apparatus. Other embodiments of the apparatus of the present invention are designed to enable the individual to position himself therein while the apparatus is in a horizontal position after which a third person or the individual may easily elevate the apparatus into a vertical position with the user thereof moving into suspended relationship with respect thereto. This arrangement greatly facilitates use of the apparatus not only by strong, healthy individuals but also enables those less able bodied individuals to obtain the benefits offered thereby without requiring a great amount of assistance from third parties. Thus, as will become more apparent from the following description, the present invention is well suited for use by a wide variety of individuals having a great range of strength and agility.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.